Edith Kermit Roosevelt’s “colonial” garden, c. 1903 (White House History Number 38)

Edith Kermit Roosevelt’s “colonial” garden, c. 1903. The paisley shaped flower beds framed by low boxwood abounded in old-fashioned flowers, Johnny-jumpups, daisies, and wildflowers that Mrs. Roosevelt and her friends gathered on walks in the country. Inspired by the popularity of “old times” in houses and gardens, the colonial garden’s charms were as a private place to sit and read, walk, and look down upon from the dining room windows and West Terrace. Mrs. Roosevelt’s intimate attention to this garden qualifies her as the first gardener among the first ladies.

Date of Work: 1903
Credit: Abby Gunn Baker Papers, The White House

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